The present invention relates to an electronic timepiece comprising an electroacoustic transducer, an oscillator, a frequency divider chain, a display control circuit, a display, and an alarm system which includes a transducer capable of operating as an emitter of acoustic signals in response to excitation signals delivered to it, and an electronic circuit activated by the frequency divider chain for generating the excitation signals.
Timepieces are already known which include an electroacoustic transducer for delivering an acoustic signal at a time of alarm. Generally, in such timepieces, the transducer is designed only to emit acoustic signals, but not to receive such signals. However, it would be useful to use such a transducer both ways; that is, not only to transmit alarm signals, but also to receive external information in the form of acoustic signals for controlling different functions of the timepiece. Such information signals could be, for example, those which are normally given to the timepiece using conventional control means like push-buttons.
There is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,020,628 an electronic watch comprising a receiver of acoustic or magnetic signals delivered by a telephone apparatus adapted to this end. The timepiece is placed close to the telephone apparatus, and the coded signals collected are utilized to automatically correct the variation of rate of the timepiece, or to set the time.
However, the receiver of acoustic signals of such a timepiece is not designed to emit acoustic signals. Thus it cannot be utilized to acoustically signal a time of alarm.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,855,574 a device is described which is not an electronic timepiece but rather an alarm system which is capable of being switched off acoustically. The alarm rings until a verbal order is given. After a predetermined time the alarm signal is again switched on until a new verbal order is given. The process repeats itself until either a push-button is actuated in order to shut off the alarm, or until an automatic reset of the device is accomplished by the mechanism of the device.
However, such a device is in fact an acoustically controlled alarm switch. It needs both microphone and loudspeaker elements, and does not avoid the necessity of including an extra element for shutting off the alarm.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide an electronic timepiece with an electroacoustic transducer able to transmit acoustic signals to indicate a time of alarm, and being further able to receive information in the form of acoustic signals to control different functions of the timepiece.